Early Christmas

I had been the top student the school recruited with a full scholarship, while my younger sister, Chloe Stevens, had gotten in through money despite being a poor performer. In my past life, during the college entrance exams, Chloe, who had always ranked at the bottom, suddenly made a miraculous turnaround and got into Royalton College, just like I did. Right after that, she marched straight to the admissions office and reported me, claiming that I had copied all my answers from her. That was impossible. I had a score above 1480 on every single test. The admissions office and teachers did not believe her either. Then, Chloe accused me of using some kind of black magic, saying that whatever answer she wrote down, I would somehow know and copy it. The admissions office made us retake the exam, and somehow every single one of our answers came out identical. I could not defend myself, got arrested by the police, and spent the rest of my life rotting in prison. After being reborn, I studied harder than ever and secured an early admission to Royalton College. Now, sitting in the exam room, I deliberately scored zero on every single test. I wanted to see just how many points Chloe could get without me.

Every Christmas Eve, the heir of the Marco mafia family—Adrian Marco, must follow the family tradition: Draw a name to decide whether he’s allowed to marry me. Because I, Irene Cast, am not mafia-born. Unless he draws the slip with my name on it, he can’t take me as his wife. For four years, Adrian has drawn four times. And not once did he draw my name. I always thought he fought with his family because of me— that he was willing to risk losing his position as the Don, just to choose me. Every time he failed, he held me so tightly and whispered, “It’s okay. There’s always next year.” And I loved him so much it hurt. Hurt enough that I was willing to wait, year after year. This year, I told myself: If he still doesn’t draw my name… I’ll secretly switch the result. I sneaked to the door of Adrian’s study, and heard his younger brother ask: “Don… every year you do draw Irene's name. Why do you pretend you didn’t? Is it because you still can’t let Sera go?” But he simply said, in a flat voice, “Sera needs me for something urgent. Do what you always do: swap Irene’s name for a blank one.” He walked out without looking back. Instead of swapping, he tossed the blank slip into the trash, left the one with my name on the table, and hurried after Adrian. I went inside, picked up the blank slip from the trash, and replaced the one with my name. Watching my own name fall into the garbage. Adrian…I don’t want to wait and marry you anymore. I’ll grant you your choice.

I was five months pregnant when my husband, James Fletcher, allowed his mistress to invade our lives—on the very night of our wedding anniversary. But she didn’t just come to flaunt her presence. She came to take my life. Pregnant and vulnerable, I confronted her, desperately clinging to my dignity. But the fight ended with me tumbling down the staircase, my swollen belly crashing against the cold, hard ground. Blood seeped across the floor, vivid and unrelenting. James only arrived after hearing about his precious mistress’ ordeal. He stood there, staring at the pool of blood, at my broken body. But instead of helping me, he rushed to her side. She had nothing but a few superficial scratches, yet he swept her off to the hospital like she was the one dying. By the time he returned, my child was gone. The doctors barely managed to save me. And what did James do? He struck me in front of everyone, his words sharper than the sting of his hand. "Lisa only wanted to bring you a Christmas gift, and you attacked her out of nowhere! You shameless witch!" “She didn’t force her way in! What nonsense! I gave her the house key ages ago. You just can’t stand that she’s prettier and kinder than you!" “You didn’t just hurt her. You killed my child! You vile, despicable woman. Why couldn’t it have been you instead?” Lisa stood beside him, pretending to comfort him while flashing me a smug, victorious smirk. James’s vicious tirade didn’t stop there. He dragged my name onto the internet, painting me as a monster.

When I was seven years old, a handsome man Mom brought home gave me a box of mangoes. That day, Dad watched me happily eating the mangoes as he signed his name on the divorce agreement. Then, he jumped to his death. From that day on, mangoes became a lifelong nightmare for me. So, on our wedding day, I told my wife, Irene Johnson, "If you ever want a divorce, just give me a mango." She held me without saying a word. From that moment on, mangoes became forbidden for her as well. … On the fifth Christmas Eve after we got married, Irene's childhood sweetheart, Steven Carter, placed a mango on her desk. That same day, she announced that she was cutting ties with him and fired him from the company. That day, I felt that she was the woman destined for me. ... Six months later, I return from overseas after closing a billion-dollar deal. At the celebration dinner, Irene hands me a drink. After I drink half of it, Steven, the man who was kicked out of the company, stands behind me and grins. "Is the mango juice good?" he asks. I look at Irene in disbelief, but she is holding back a laugh. "Don't be mad. Steve insisted I play a joke on you. I didn't give you a mango, just a bottle of its juice. "But I think Steve is right. There's something wrong with you for not eating mangoes. Look at how much you enjoyed it just now!" she says. I keep a cold expression, raise my hand, and splash the remaining mango juice onto her face. Then, I turn and walk away. Some things are never a joke. Mangoes aren't, and neither is my decision to divorce.

“You think coming here and apologizing solves it? Do you think it’s going to ease my pain? The pain you inflicted on me?” I yelled at him, my chest burning with all the pent up anger, waiting to be unleashed. Ashton reached out to touch me, but I slapped his hand away. Hurt flashed in his eyes, but I couldn’t care less. “I’m sorry, Helen. I promise to do better. Please, give me a second chance.” I scoffed. What a joke! “We are divorced, Ashton.” Ashton shook his head as if willing himself not to believe what I was saying. “I never sent you divorce papers, Hel. And…” he trailed off while I stared at him with creased brows. “We aren’t divorced. I never signed my part.” ***** For three years, Helen tried to be the perfect wife despite being labeled as incompetent, barren and worthless. She put up with her husband’s ignorance and mother-in-law’s insults for the sake of maintaining peace and keeping her marriage. But what she didn’t expect was a video of her husband in bed with his secretary on Christmas Eve when she planned to break the news of her pregnancy to him. And worse — His secretary threw a divorce paper which her husband had drafted at her face and asked her to beat it. When she couldn’t take it anymore, she left and returned six years later with dashing triplets. But what she didn’t expect was her husband wanting her back. As if that wasn’t enough, she was about to find out that there was more to what happened six years ago, and everything she thought she knew…were all lies. Will the holiday spirit be enough to bring them together again?

WARNING: 18+ readers only. RAE: Alpha Jason Kane is my mate but he doesn’t love me. His nonchalance pushed me into the arms of another man, and then I realized he was his estranged son. But that’s not all. At work, I signed a contract to document the life of a star hockey player, whom I have to live with and work closely with for the next six months. I just had no idea my mate’s estranged son was the same person again. It seems I can’t avoid Malachar Kane no matter what I do. We’re tied together by fate and bound by something forbidden. MALACHAR: I was cursed by the moon goddess to remain on earth to guard her moon power and destroy anyone who tries to steal it. So when I moved to LA two years ago, the plan was simple. Blend in as a hockey prodigy. Discover the newest thief. Annihilate the threat. Now Rachel Rosier was never supposed to be in the picture. I had thought she would be a random fuck on a cold Christmas night, but she wasn’t. She ruined me. I can’t stop thinking about her. I can’t even breathe without flashbacks from that night. And just when I’m about to complete my mission in this city, I find out she’s married to the Alpha I must kill. The man I call father. Rachel is not just my step mom now. She’s bound to my enemy, and so, I must take her life, too. But I want her like crazy. I shouldn’t. It’s a sin. She’s forbidden on so many grounds, but if I can’t have her, no one will.

"I may be blind, Rain, but trust me, I’ll never miss the right hole or the perfect positions to put you in. My eyes don’t stop me from taking you until your legs give out. Open wide for me, wifey." Enzo Salvatore DeLuca, the ruthless billionaire mafia don, was untouchable—until the accident that stole his sight. Now, with time running out, he needs an heir to secure his legacy, and Rain is forced to take her stepsister's place as his bride. Rain always dreamed of a Christmas wedding with the perfect husband, but marrying a blind stranger wasn’t in her fantasies. How could a man who couldn’t see fulfill her wildest desires? He’d need help with everything, and she couldn’t imagine how he’d live up to the man she’d always fantasized about. What she doesn’t know is that he sees every move she makes, from the constant bite of her lips whenever he talks, to the way she walks around naked in the room, thinking he wouldn’t see her anyway, down to the way she watches him with longing whenever he’s changing. What he lacks in sight, he makes up for in raw intensity, dominance, and an ability to give her everything she never dared to ask for. He doesn’t do love. He doesn’t do gentle. But with Rain, he might just find more than the healing he never thought possible, and the revenge he had been seeking. "If you ask me, the only reason I need eyes is to see your eyes rolling back when I fuck you. But for now, baby girl, I want to hear it. Let me hear you moan for me.”

Sa araw mismo ng Christmas Day, isang “surprise” ang natanggap ni Shiena—pero hindi ito ang pagbubuntis na inaasahan niyang ikatutuwa ng asawa niya. Instead, she discovers the cruel truth inside the hospital lounge: she was never the wife he truly wanted. Isa lang siyang kapalit. A shadow of the woman her husband, the brilliant and untouchable doctor William, could never forget. Shattered by betrayal, humiliation, and the child growing inside her womb, Shiena chooses to walk away from the marriage she fought so hard to protect. But leaving the man she loved turns out to be the biggest mistake. Because the moment she disappears, the cold doctor who never explained, never cared, and never looked back begins to realize the one truth he was too blind to see: the woman he pushed away was the only one who ever truly loved him. Now that she’s rebuilding her life, chasing the dreams she once sacrificed for him, William is determined to get her back. But what if the woman he broke no longer wants to be healed by him? And what if the child he never knew existed becomes the proof of the doctor’s greatest mistake? … Napaatras si Shiena nang mariin nitong isinara ang pinto ng office. His hand slammed against the wall beside her head, trapping her between his body and the cold surface. His usually calm eyes were now filled with desperation. “You left without a word… and you think I’ll let you disappear again?” “Too late, Doc. You already chose her.” Then he lowered his gaze to the little boy hiding behind her legs. For the first time, the great Dr. William De la cruz looked cruletely shattered. “He’s… mine?” “That was the child you threw away before you even knew he existed.”

Ava believed she had escaped the life she was born into. Determined never to struggle the way her family once did, she made a choice early on: she would never marry for love, only for security. And when she met Ethan, a powerful billionaire CEO who chose her against all odds, it felt like everything had fallen perfectly into place. Despite his family’s disapproval and the conditions placed on their union, Ava built a life of luxury, stability, and status by his side. For six years, she believed she had won. Until the night of their anniversary. After an evening that feels like a dream, Ethan shatters everything with a single sentence: He wants a divorce. Blindsided and desperate, Ava refuses to accept it. Because losing Ethan doesn’t just mean the end of a marriage, it threatens the life she fought so hard to secure. The wealth. The comfort. The escape from a past she refuses to return to. But as Ava begins to question Ethan’s sudden decision, cracks start to appear beneath the surface of their seemingly perfect life. The man she thought she knew may be hiding more than just distance, and the truth could change everything. Now, caught between love, survival, and the fear of losing it all, Ava must decide how far she’s willing to go to hold on… Because in a world where love was never the plan, walking away might cost her everything.

The doctor said I only had three days left to live. Acute liver failure. My only hope was an experimental clinical trial. It was extremely risky, but had the faintest sliver of a chance to survive. But my husband, David, gave the last available spot... to my adopted sister, Emma, also my daughter’s godmother. Her condition was still in its early stages. He said it was the "right decision," because she “deserved to live more.” I signed the papers to forgo treatment and took the high-dose painkillers prescribed by the doctor. The cost? My organs would shut down, and I would die. When I handed over the jewelry company I’d poured my heart into, along with all my designs, to Emma, my parents praised me, saying, “Now that’s what a good big sister should do.” When I agreed to divorce David so he could marry Emma, he said, “You’ve finally learned to be understanding.” When I told my daughter to call Emma ‘Mom,’ she clapped her hands and said, “Emma is such a gentle and kind mother!” When I gave all my assets to Emma, everyone in the family thought it was only natural. No one noticed anything was wrong with me. I’m just curious. Will they still be able to smile when they find out I'm dead?